The Scene – May 2, To The Wheelhouse, Yet Again

The Attic at The Wheelhouse

The Attic at The Wheelhouse

Gravity Works at The Wheelhouse

Gravity Works at The Wheelhouse

See what I meant about how I wished The Wheelhouse was offering season passes this year? I was heading back down to South County for another Saturday show, this time It was to enjoy the jam rock styles of Gravity Works and The Attic. A common theme, I was intending on finishing up the previous Saturday’s show , but last minute decided to make the trip, having seen both bands in the past month I knew it was going to be a great show I shouldn’t miss. I arrived fairly early, and at the door, didn’t notice anyone other than the bouncer in the live music section, not even band members. Once inside I realized the crowd was packed into the bar section, Celtics vs Bulls, playoff game 7 had entranced the masses. When asked I’ll say my favorite basketball team is the Celts, with the disclaimer, really I don’t follow basketball, and last time I was up on the Celts, Bird and McHale were the stars. Formerly an obsessive Red Sox and Patriots fan, after the whirlwind of the early and mid 2000s, my sports obsession has been satiated. Actually, I try not to watch either any longer as my heart and blood pressure just cannot handle the stress.

Zach Fenner of Gravity Works

Zach Fenner of Gravity Works

Nate Beauvais of Gravity Works

Nate Beauvais of Gravity Works

Joe Jannerelli of Gravity Works

Joe Jannerelli of Gravity Works

Marco Leclerc of Gravity Works

Marco Leclerc of Gravity Works

Paul Silvia of Gravity Works

Paul Silvia of Gravity Works

When 10:00 hit the gents from Gravity Works made their way to the stage, after a few minutes of sound checking they were ready to play, but other than myself, everyone was still glued to the TVs inside the bar section. Donning a Celts jersey, Nate Beauvais turned to the band after a stroke a genius, conferring for a moment then asking for the manager, he asked them to change the input behind the band from their prepared graphics slide show, to the cable input for the Celtics game, BRILLIANT! After the adjustments were made, they made the announcement that the game was now on, behind the band, and the crowd all flooded the show floor. Best of both worlds now available in on little stage, the band began to play. First they would play a song titled “The Unveiling.” As usual the went for the kill straight away, Zach Fenner was tearing up his guitar. Marco Leclerc was tickling out the rhythm on the synth keyboard. Joe Jannerelli was pounding out a crazy beat I would guess using either dual kicks, or a double jointed ankle behind the kit. Nate Beauvais was thumping his bass groves up and down the neck. Paul Silvia was coaxing the skins on bongos and congas to round out the beats. Using the groove they created they slipped into what I believe was Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia,” obviously one of Paul’s favorites to play, he was going between his Zendrum, bongos and conga drums, showcasing great additional percussion. The crowd was getting into it further, when they melded the groove back into “The Unveiling.” It was a great sequence, I quickly grabbed my digital camera to capture the next song, “Points:”

05.02.09 Gravity Works “Points”

A bouncy reggae rhythmic piece, Nate took lead vocals. A shorter version than I’d seen them perform previously, they were saving the face melting for later. Zach took lead vocals on a “Evergreen,” foreshadowing later, Marco, Zach and Nate each took a short solo segment:

05.02.09 Gravity Works “Evergreen”

Between each song, the band made sure to check the score of the game, after assuring the Celtics lead, they broke into “The Reason.” Nate took lead vocals again, singing “the reason, you went insane” giving Marco the opportunity to do just that on the ivories for quite the measure. Passing the solo torch, he allowed Zach a good melodic solo measure before Nate sang the closing verse. Touting the next number as a new one they broke into “We are the Same.” Realizing they were short on time, they conversed on stage and decided who’s solo the would cut out on their final number of the evening “Hamilton Bupo:”

05.02.09 Gravity Works Jam into “Hamilton Bupo”

The Attic at The Wheelhouse

The Attic at The Wheelhouse

Joel Kovacs of The Attic

Joel Kovacs of The Attic

Tom Pellegrino of The Attic

Tom Pellegrino of The Attic

Leaving the stage scorching hot for The Attic, Gravity Works thanked everyone as I headed for a drink and a butt. The crowd had defiantly began to thicken, but not as many people as I’d like to have seen at the show, unfortunately people are just not paying enough attention to all the great music going around right now, enjoying my cigarette I happened across some serious The Attic fans, who shared my sentiments. I’ve always regarded live shows as my favorite form of entertainment, usually inexpensive cover charges, that benefit the musicians directly, and cheep drinks available make for fantastic nights on the town, without an enormous expense. Even if drinking isn’t your thing, or you want to save more money, I’ll stock up on a pack of gum before the show, and just grab waters on the night (still tipping the bartenders of course, can’t be too cheap,) especially if its a show in South County, or Boston. After The Attic finished tuning up and getting the sound right they stepped off stage for a quick two minutes, possibly working out their set list or refilling drinks.

Having caught The Attic for their CD release at Jerky’s in April, I was excited to see them again. Handling lead guitar and lead vocals for most of the night, Jordan Goldson impressed with his passionate vocals and smooth licks. Phil Johnson provided the pounding bass licks, harmonizing vocals and some lead vocals. Driving the rhythm guitar most of the night, lead segments and harmonizing vocals was Tom Pellegrino. Dominating the drums all set was Joel Kovacs, amazingly I recorded a fantastic solo from Joel, but the will not be able to integrate it into the post. Early in the set, they played a song with which I was unfamiliar, “Back in my Home Again:”

These guys seem to combine the best elements of classic jam band feel with 90s hard rock grunge. Some songs have very melodic solos and entrancing sway generating rhythms, while others had a raw rock feel. By the third song they broke into one I recognized from their recent EP release, the title track “Where’s the Payoff?”

Phil Johnson of The Attic

Phil Johnson of The Attic

Jordan Goldson of The Attic

Jordan Goldson of The Attic

The crowd loved the version, and the band quickly broke into the closing song from the EP, “You’ve Never Seen My Face Before,” which I really enjoyed, its got a good catchy chorus and bluesy rock feel. I was grooving too hard and snapping still pics to capture this one in video, but if you get the chance, you can give the studio cut a listen on their myspace page. Next they broke into a really great jam that I happened to record, and after a two and a half hour blog break, I’ve managed to break the clip into 3 sections small enough to post on youtube part 2 highlights Joel’s ridiculous drum solo, we’ll let the clips tell this story:

Overall it was a great night of music so far, and I was begining to get weary.  I decided I’d had my enjoyment for the evening, and enough media to make for a good tale, so I packed up and started heading out about thirty minutes before last call.  The Attic proved once again why they are one of the better know, and more followed acts around the New England scene, and Gravity works proved once again they put on a great fun live show.  As it turns out, I’d be seeing a lot more of the gents from Gravity Works again over the course of the week.

This entry was posted in Live Review, The Scene and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to The Scene – May 2, To The Wheelhouse, Yet Again

  1. Pingback: The Scene – May 7th, Sound Sessions Search, Round 14 « Sully’s Cafe

  2. Pingback: The Scene May 2 To The Wheelhouse Yet Again Sully Cafe | Outdoor Ceiling Fans

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.